š WeRide Stock Soars Over 10% Today - Hereās What Fueled the Rally
Autonomous driving giant WeRide just left traditional investors in the dust with a blistering 10%+ surge.
The catalyst? Markets finally waking up to the company's massive real-world deployment advantage while legacy automakers still struggle with basic sensor calibration.
Behind the momentum: WeRide's expanding robotaxi fleet continues to demonstrate superior operational metrics compared to competitors - something Wall Street analysts can't ignore anymore despite their usual skepticism toward emerging tech.
Why it matters: This isn't just another speculative pump; it's validation that autonomous driving technology is hitting inflection points that even traditional finance bros can't dismiss with their usual 'but the valuations!' complaints.
While hedge funds were busy overanalyzing quarterly margins, WeRide quietly built the infrastructure that's positioning them to dominate the future of transportation - proving once again that real innovation doesn't wait for permission from spreadsheet jockeys.
Driverless pilot
Early that morning, WeRide announced that its Robobus autonomous vehicle had been granted a test permit for Level 4 autonomy in Belgium. (The Society of Engineers devised a scale ranging from Level 0 -- momentary driver assistance, to Level 5 -- full automation. Level 4 is high automation.)
Image source: Getty Images.
The license permits WeRide to test its Robobus on public streets along an 8-kilometer (5 mile), nine-stop stretch between the municipalities of Heverlee and Leuven. Operations will be coordinated between the company, public transport agency De Lijn, the Leuven government, and a mobility consulting firm called Espaces-Mobilites.
WeRide didn't hesitate to mention that this makes the company the first one in the world to hold autonomous operating licenses in seven countries. Besides Belgium, that lineup consists of the U.S., France, China, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.
More where that came from
In the press release touting its new permit, WeRide added that once the testing is completed within the next few months, De Lijn will operate an autonomous shuttle along the same route. The term for this will be mid-November through January of next year.
WeRide quoted CEO Jennifer Li as saying that the pilot program gives it a chance "to demonstrate our technology in real-world conditions on public roads while setting a strong precedent for future autonomous vehicle testing across Europe."
